The Dual Challenge of Global Terrorism

The physical and cybernetic terrorist attacks that have been striking the world recently heightened the security awareness of governments, security agencies and private companies regarding the dangers and massive damage that can be the result of a combined attack involving both elements

The Dual Challenge of Global Terrorism

Photo: AP

The recent terrorist attacks that have been striking the world generally and Europe in particular heightened the security awareness of government and national security agencies, along with multinational corporations, players in the field of energy and critical infrastructures, organizers of mega events and major cities worldwide. All of these elements have realized that they need to step up their acquisition and assimilation of resources, products and services in the fields of defense and security. The security concept, which has been drawing more attention and gaining importance in view of the rise of terrorist organizations worldwide, and the increase in the number of terrorist attacks and incidents, along with the improvement in the operational and technological capabilities of terrorism, have heightened and emphasized the need to allocate constantly increasing security budgets to internal and homeland security, so as to be able to cope more effectively and even defeat the threats faced by numerous countries and geographic regions around the world.

"Today it is clear that terrorism can have an effect on political stability as well as on undermining the economic interests of states worldwide. As a result, strategic security thinking now focuses on taking measures to minimize the effect of those threats, while increasing the procurement and acquisition budgets in the field of homeland security, stepping up the instruction and training activities of the intelligence and internal security organs, police forces, national defense forces and so forth and studying new methods for coping with terrorism. Israel has a lot to offer the world in all of those aspects," says Ramzi Gabai, Chairman of the Israel Export Institute, in anticipation of the fourth international homeland security and cyber technology conference, to be held between November 14 and November 17, 2016 at Pavilion 2 of the Tel-Aviv Convention Center.

The conference is being held at the initiative of the Israel Export Institute in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy & Industry, National Cyber Bureau, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IMOD/SIBAT (Defense Export & Defense Cooperation Division) and Israel Airports Authority. This biannual conference, intended to promote the Israeli homeland security and cyber technology industries, has evolved in recent years into a leading and important international event in the field of homeland security and cyber technology.

The Other Side of the Terrorism Coin

This year, a cyber dimension has been added to the conference owing to the growing number of cyber warfare attacks worldwide. "This is not just a semantic or cosmetic change of the conference branding," clarifies Lior Kunitzki, deputy CEO of the Israel Export Institute and Head of the Institute's Technological Activities Division. "The world has recently realized that cyber warfare is the other side of the terrorism and crime coin and that both threat categories share a broad common interface. Everyone understands the severity of the danger and the massive damage that may be the result of a combined attack against several focal points simultaneously.

"Cyber warfare has become highly prominent, as in recent years we have witnessed malicious cyber warfare attacks around the world that had very serious results. For example, the cyber warfare attack against the electrical mains network in Western Ukraine, or the cyber warfare attack against the sewage system in Australia, which caused a sewage flooding of nature reserves in the area. The entire world is concerned about a large-scale cyber warfare attack that would, God forbid, severely damage civilian infrastructures and bring life to a standstill in the area being attacked for a long period of time. The fear of a 'cyber 9/11' is very real and present in every communication with US government and defense/security officials.

"At the same time, in recent years there has been a growing worldwide concern about the threat of physical terrorist attacks. The media report new attacks of this type on a daily basis. Just in recent months we were informed of the massacre in Nice, France, the suicide bombing at the Istanbul airport, Turkey, the shooting at the shopping mall in Munich, Germany, the apprehension of suspected planners of terrorist attacks in Belgium and the list, regrettably, goes on and on. These events reflect the growing need for cutting-edge technologies and resources for securing city centers, mass-audience events, airports and so forth.

"Today there is hardly any major security project that fails to address both sides of the coin," adds Kunitzki, "the physical security side and the cyber security side. Take, for example, the field of aviation security. This field is exposed to physical terrorism attacks as well as to cyber terrorism attacks, sometimes with the two categories combined and with both attack types affecting one another."

Providing a Complete Solution

According to Kunitzki, Israel has become a key player in both worlds and its ability to provide a complete solution in the fields of homeland security and cyber security further enhances its relative advantage in the global security world. "The conference and the professional exhibition held in conjunction with it will focus on the many points where the homeland security worlds and cyber security worlds overlap, around such aspects as intelligence, cybercrime and counterterrorism, protection of critical infrastructures, the challenges and risks in a smart global world, management of mass-audience events according to the integrative approach and preparing for emergency situations.

"The target audience invited to attend this event includes internal security ministers, directors of ministries entrusted with internal security, information and cyber technology, representatives of intelligence agencies, counterterrorism authorities, aviation authorities, sea ports, oil and gas drilling rigs, mayors, municipal police forces, executives and security managers of various organizations along with senior representatives of the business sector from leading local and global corporations."

Additionally, the Israel Export Institute will host prominent, world-renowned speakers. Among others, the Internal Security Minister of Belgium is expected to arrive and contacts are currently under way regarding the arrival of a major delegation from Europol with the emphasis on cyber warfare specialists. The Head of the US TSA (Transportation Security Administration) whose responsibilities include airport security and is regarded as one of the largest agencies subordinated to the US Department of Homeland Security is also expected to arrive.

"Physical terrorism and cybernetic terrorism have evolved into a global problem and at the conference we will deliberate and address the challenges and the solutions, while highlighting the Israeli capabilities in this field," concludes Kunitzki. "A unique ecosystem has developed in Israel, which combines the defense establishment and the defense industries, academia and industry, and embodies the most advanced technological capabilities in the field of homeland security as well as in the field of cyber technology, including the common interface between them, and we will endeavor to market those capabilities to the representatives of the states and security organizations who will come to the conference from around the world."